Counting the Beats
by Post-Apocalyptic Cigarette
Summary: Grimmjow and Ichigo have overcome their differences and found solace in one another's embrace, but now reality is threatening to bleed into their peace.


**A/N**: It's been a while since I've written much of anything, but this idea has been suffocating me for a few months now. I know that this plot has been done before, but the poem that this work is based on provides an alternative lens with which to view the situation. With that in mind… I should warn you that both Ichigo and Grimmjow are _rather_ out of character; however, I believe that even the most untamed of beasts are capable of passion and love.

**Disclaimer**: Please reference my profile.

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Ichigo awoke from his slumber to the sensation of a gentle hand caressing his scalp. The soft pull nearly lulled him back to sleep. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the purely masculine aroma of his lover, as well as the stale musk of sweat and sex, before slowly, quietly, exhaling as he opened his eyes.

The hand stilled in his tresses before resuming its languid movements.

Ichigo breathed in deeply again as he closed his eyes, adjusting his position on his bedmate's firm chest, before he sighed in contentment, listening to the steady beat of the man's heart.

It's quite remarkable, he thought to himself, that a beast described as being "hollow" should have such a strong heart, a strong will. He smiled, for he wouldn't be where he was now if it weren't for the courage in said heart and the extreme force that lay in said will.

The hand in his hair ceased in its movements as its partner lifted him by the chin.

Ichigo lazily opened his sepia eyes and was met by the penetrating gaze of Grimmjow's own azure ones. In that moment several emotions flitted before the both of them, mirrored in each other's eyes: fear, contentment, serenity, absolution, love.

Grimmjow craned forward and placed a gentle kiss between Ichigo's worried brows.

Unadulterated contentment washed over Ichigo as he closed his eyes again before replacing his head on Grimmjow's chest.

The hand, again, resumed its soft stroking.

They lay awake like that for what felt like ages, completely absorbed in the serenity of the moment, each feeling both freed and bound by the presence of the other.

Only the steady _thump_, _thump_ of Grimmjow's heart marked the true passage of time.

_Time._

Ichigo's hand, once laid flat against his lover's chest, now clenched as reality began to bleed into his brief peace.

_They didn't have much of it left_.

The hand, again, stilled, as its partner wrapped around Ichigo's fist.

"Ichigo," Grimmjow whispered in his ear, "Ichigo, look at me."

Ichigo opened his eyes and met the fierce gaze of his lover's now sapphire blue ones. While his own eyes conveyed nothing but contempt and fear, Grimmjow's radiated passion and something akin to hurt.

Ichigo's eyes began to water as his rage slowly diffused into pain.

Grimmjow's eyes softened, the teal markings below them, while normally fierce in their own right, only seemed to accentuate the openness of his features as he cradled Ichigo closer.

"It's you and me," he whispered, his voice never wavering, "It's you and me. Nothing else matters."

He kissed the lone tear that escaped those rebellious brown eyes before pressing his lips against the ginger's own. The kiss was slow-burning as each took their time committing to memory this precious stolen moment.

For that was exactly what it was: stolen time. Soon. Soon their enemies would be upon them.

Their tongues tangled together: tasting, stroking, searching.

Desperation mounted in Ichigo as he pulled the blunette closer, fisting his hand in those sky blue tresses he had come to admire as much as abhor. Grimmjow bit back a groan as he pressed the smaller man closer before rolling them over. Ichigo gasped into the kiss, clutching broad shoulders and arching his back into the larger man, his rough yet fluid actions shooting straight to his groin.

Grimmjow growled before seizing the boy by the hips, ceasing his maddening grinding. Ichigo moaned as he broke the kiss for much needed oxygen. The blunette began placing gentle kisses from his jaw to his clavicles, stopping to lave and gently nibble on his sensitive pulse point, all the while softly caressing tanned skin across the ginger's side and thigh, impressing upon him that they did have time and that there was no rush.

Ichigo alternated between gasping and sighing as he unclenched his hands and began to explore the dips and curves of the hollow's back. He did not wish to rush through what may be his final hours with his lover. He did, however, rake his dull fingernails along the man's back as he bit into an already sensitive nipple, breath hitching before coming out in short pants as the blunette laved the reddening nub before moving to the other.

The atmosphere surrounding the couple was thick with passion and power, their spiritual pressures escalating with their arousal. Grimmjow continued to kiss, lick, caress, and knead his way down the smaller man's torso, pausing to lavish upon his narrow hips and tease his sensitive entrance before continuing down his seemingly never ending legs.

Ichigo was torn between thrashing and laying ramrod straight as he fisted the sheets, guttural moans escaping his bruised lips whenever the blunette paid attention to a particularly erogenous area. The warmth that had settled in his groin was quickly setting fire throughout his entire body as his lover worshipped it.

"G-Grimm," he panted as his patience finally snapped as the man bit rather roughly into the artery in his thigh. He gripped the man by the mane and dragged his face back to his before initiating a scorching kiss.

An animalistic snarl ripped through Grimmjow's chest as their lips, teeth, and tongues battled for dominance. Ichigo's already bruised cheek began to bleed as the man's mask rubbed through the already sensitive flesh, his blood slowly trickling down and smearing across their faces. The coppery taste only seemed to fuel the hollow's lust, his spiritual power spiking and overwhelming Ichigo's senses, causing the boy's own pressure to rise as the sensation began to boil his blood.

Finally having reached his limit, Ichigo, again, took the situation into his own hands as he reached between their bodies to boldly grip Grimmjow's weeping erection. The man in question tossed his head back as he hissed between his teeth, the opening all Ichigo needed to roll the two back over.

His eyes were like molten amber as he held his stunned lover's gaze as well as his thick cock. Ultramarine eyes rolled back as he gripped the shaft more firmly before pumping at an agonizingly slow pace, his eyes never once leaving the blunette's lustful features, even as he moved back and slowly began to descend upon the engorged member.

Grimmjow's hands were clutching the sheets as he tossed his head back and forth, his roguish hair even more mussed as he, in turn, panted and moaned as Ichigo teased him. The redhead breathed heavily on the head of the blunette's penis before licking from balls to tip, following the vein on the underside of the shaft before tonguing the slit. Instead of wrapping his sinful lips around his cock as Grimm expected, Ichigo thought that turnabout was fair play as he began to place featherlight kisses up and down the shaft, twirled his tongue around the mushroom head, and blew along the rigid member.

Grimmjow released his hold on the linens, growling as he made to rip the boy from his nether regions, but just as he snarled his fingers in those tangerine locks, the boy swallowed him whole, pressing his nose into the fine blue hairs at the base before giving a deep pull. Grimmjow's back arched completely off the bed as he groaned and tried to force Ichigo down farther. The redhead retreated briefly before relaxing his throat again. He gripped the blunette's hips before he took all of him in again, hollowing his cheeks as he began to bob up and down.

Grimmjow's groans began to dissipate into pants and grunts as he felt the coil in his stomach beginning to wind tighter. He went to pull the orangette off of him just as his cock was finally released from that sinful mouth. Whiskey-colored eyes penetrated him as Ichigo rose above him.

His heavy-lidded eyes and lust-fogged mind sharpened as he abruptly seized the boy by the hips and rolled them back over before brutally plunging into him in one swift thrust.

Ichigo's breath hitched as his body accommodated the girth of Grimm's cock, the pain not nearly as overwhelming as it was the day previous. The beast atop him was struggling not to come completely undone as the redhead's inner walls clamped down on him, attempting to squeeze the life out of him.

So much for slow and steady, neh?

He came back to himself as heels dug into his sides and attempted to push him in further. He growled deeply as he slowly retreated before thrusting forward roughly, startling a cry from the smaller man as he penetrated further and brushed his still oversensitive prostate. Grimmjow repeated this action once more before he began to pick up the pace. Neither of them were going to last much longer if the orangette's pants and biting nails were anything to go by.

"G-Gri-… Oh! R-righ-," Ichigo called as Grimmjow finally found the right angle at which to hit his prostate on each thrust.

It still wasn't enough.

Ichigo was about to grasp his own neglected erection when he heard Grimmjow cum with a deafening roar. Before he could even think to be disappointed or to finish himself off, Grimmjow's spiritual pressure exploded and made it impossible to breathe. The lack of oxygen served to heighten his pleasure to the breaking point. He came with a cry just as the blunette thought to help him over the edge.

_The sight of Ichigo coming apart was an image he would take with him to his grave._

Grimmjow collapsed onto his elbows before he found the strength to flop onto his back.

They lay side-by-side as they both tried not to succumb to post-coital slumber.

Ichigo was the first one to move as he rested his head on his lover's chest once again. He closed his eyes as his own heartbeat calmed enough for him to hear Grimmjow's.

The strong _thump_, _thump_ began to pull him under when his sex-addled mind went on full alert.

Grimmjow sensed the spiritual pressures before the boy was even aware, quickly twining his shaking hand in sweaty orange locks.

"It's just you and me," he assured the boy, "Just you and me."

Ichigo clenched his eyes shut and choked back a panic with a sob, "W-…What will we do when they reach us?"

"Shh. Nothing matters but you and me."

Ichigo shot up at this statement, turning angry, petrified eyes on him, "They will kill you! Hell, they'll kill us both! This is treason!"

Grimmjow's resigned expression quickly clouded over as he gazed into his lover's eyes, "No. They won't."

"What do you-?"

Grimmjow cut him off by sealing his lips over his. The kiss was desperate, sloppy, full of teeth, and tasted of tears, though whose they couldn't be sure of.

They broke apart as Grimmjow gripped Ichigo's chin firmly, "Remember us, now, as we are. No matter the distance – life or death – between us, remember this – you and me."

Tears continued to roll down his face as Ichigo replaced his head on the blunette's chest, listening to the steady, strong beat of heart.

_He counted the bleeding to death of time in slow heart beats_.

They lie awake in wait.

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**A/N**: Well, I had not originally intended to incorporate smut. I was originally just going to leave it at the allusion to sex the night before. Apparently good poetry and 90s rock just gets me in the mood… Well, mostly. Funny story, actually: The Fray's "You Found Me" came on as Ichigo grasped Grimm's dick. I thought it was rather ironic…

Hmm… As I post this, I really think my vocabulary interferes with the smut. Well shit. x.x

**Feedback is always welcome! I am sincerely hoping to get back into saddle, so corrections and suggestions are most welcome.**


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